Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-09
THE RAILROAD DEBT TO TIE GOVERN
MENT,
Isan Francisco Alta.l

HEM.
San Francisco Alta.l
| III
The emphatic declaration OF Senator
Wilson, of Mas sschnsetis, in discussing the
Psciiic Railroad bill ia ihe Senate in June,
1862, heretofore quoted, 70 the effect that he
| should vote for the bill with the expecta-
! ton and understanding that the n oney aid
gwen TO the companies would never be re-
paid, except in services 10 the Government.
were made in opposition to an am endment
providing for the extension Of the Govern
! ment lien to the rolling stock of the roads
As the Senator stated, he thought il idle to
require such security for debt that was
| never expected, nor indeed intended, to be
repaid except in the services provided for
His desire was to give the builders of the
road every inducement to venture their
money in their great but hazardous enter
! prise, and to remove every unnecessary OBJ
| stacle out OF their way. He thought that
| it would only jeopardize the success of the
! work by frightening away private capital
| from it, to impose wholly useless lien
upon the entire investment.
Wilson was overruled in his contention
and the amendment was adopted but it is
clear from the course of the discussion that
the additional security was required, not
4 III tAt repay ilIci4l vi TIC luODcy, DuL
the performance of the services to be rem
| dered to the Government In reply to
Senator Wilson's argument, Senator Clark,
| of New Hampshire, said:
The Senator from Massachusetts NAV be en-
tiTeiy right that the Government may never re-
celve back this money again, and il may be that
We MAKE the loan tor the purpose of receiving
the services; but 1t will be well to take a mort
| gage to secure the building OF the road through
1 anu then 70 secure the performance of these
services which we expect them to perform in
the transmission of mails and munitions after
| the road is built. Again, the Government can
then have the control both of the railroad and
OF the rolling stock and keep il in such posi-
tloil that IL cannot be taken away from the Gov
| ernment by spectators, so that no subsequent
| mortgage shall ever interfere with it; and we
can always be sure of the services to be per
| formed Tor the Government Then, in regard
10 the creditors OF the road, il may be suggested
that the lands which are to be given to the com
pany will always be open to the creditors.
Whenever the company builds forty consecutive
miles they are entitled to receive patents for the
lands. and those are not mortgaged by this hill
as understand. / think we had better adont
inc amendment mo OF the committee; 1t will make
IL SAFER tor the Government, and safer in this
regard That we shall get the road built and
The services performed.
Immediately upon this suggestion. and
IN answer TO it, a vote was taken. and. as
the record states, the amendment was
agreed to-" Could anything be clearer
than that this amendment was adopted
with the purpose and view suggested by
Senator Clark? The additional lien upon
the roiilng-stock was simply designed to
insure the building of the road and the
rendition of the stipulated services.
1t IS quite clear from a subsequent part
OF the discussion that the Senator from
New Hampshire did not, and could moi.
have any greater expectation than the dis
tinguished Senator from Massachusetts,
that the money advanced by the Govern
ment would be eventually repaid, otherwise
IMAM IN services to be performed, and that
he could not, without being guilty of the
rankest injustice to the Companies. have
intended 10 exact any other repayment
He was outspoken and emphatic in his
predictions that the road would not paw. at
least Tor many years after its construction.
n answer to statement of Senator Lane.
OF Kansas, that he believed that the road
when completed would "be one of the
great paying thoroughfares of the world
Senator Clark on June 18th said
That only shows how we differ The Senator
from Kansas thinks it will be a good paving
road. ! believe that if the good God were TO
make that road for you, right through, YOU
could not form a company in the country that
would run it without failure
whether am right or not / do not build the
road because think it is to be a paving road:
pulIu IL as a Politlcal necessity to bind the
country together, and hold it together, and do
not care whether it is TO pay or not; here is the
money of the Government to build it.
Mr.. Wade-Ihen do not be so sharp about
them.
Mr.. Clark am only sharp with them. if the
Senator from Ohio will call it So in order to
make it clear that the road will go through /
want to hold portion of this money until we
get it through, and then let them have il all
That is not being sharp. Gong. Globe, ID Sess..
31th Cong, p. 27SS)
Subsequently Senator Clark was accused
by Senator McDougalI of inconsistency in
claiming to be in favor of the enterprise
when he had so poor an opinion of its sue
cess, and Of gross injustice in trying to in
veigle private capitalists into investing the
s5O,oJO,OOO thought to be necessary, in adj
dition to the Government aid, to complete
the road, as great public work, when he
believed that they would lose money by
the operation. To this the Senator from
New Hampshire replied:
desire simply 10 say in regard to what
said, to which the Senator seems TO have taken
objection, that the road could not be run by
any company at the present time. mean as
| the country now is, if you were to build it
from the Mississippi through; but the railroad
is the creative of civilization at the same time
1t aids it, and the time. may come, in the ad-
vance OF the country, when the road may run
itself, when it possibly may pay. But the Sen
ator wants to know why shall vote for it with
my idea IN regard Td,,t to its paving. vote
p 2 as beside political necessity as
you get it through, / apprehend that
there VIII be a very great difference In the
country from what there is now. do not mean
TO say that the time will never come when the
road VIII pay because there may be a thousand
branch roads going into it, and it may be like
other railroads in that respect. That is not
what IL meant to assert Gong. Globe, 2 sess.
37th Cong, 27S9.)
Could Senator with such views of the
extremely dubious prospect of success in
this great undertaking have entertained for
moment the idea of absolutely recurring
payment, to the last farthing, of the money
advanced by the Government? Even if
the enterprise, contrary to his expectations,
had proved most profitable one could
such Senator, If living and still occupying
his seat when the bonds became due, insist
with any show of consistency that the
money should be paid back otherwise than
by services? Could he justly demand that
the men who, in spite OF what he declared
10 them to be the gloomy prospect of sue
cess courageously come forward and put
their money into the work and carried it
through, and made the road pay, should be
punished Tor their unexpected triumph by
being compelled to repay the subsidy
which he voted to advance with no expec-
tstion of getting it back But we do not
desire to dwell upon this view of the mat
ter at this point. Suffice it to say that
whatever position Senator Clark might take
upon this subject of the repayment of the
money if he were alive and in the Senate
when the bonds mature, it is at least GER
tain that when he voted for the bill he did
not expect that the companies would be
able to make repayment except in services,
and that he could not honestly and consist
emily have intended that they should be re-
quired to make repayment in any other
way.
There were others besides Senators Will
son and Clark who voted for this bill in
the Senate who avowed their want of faith
in the success of the Pacific railroad as
paying business Investment. Thus Sen
atcr Collamer, of Vermont, on June 10Th
Gong. Globe, I'd Sess., S7th Cong, p. 2S16)
said
am very sensible that the Honorable Sem
ator from Massachusetts some two years ago
showed TO his satisfaction, and in good measure
to mine, that if the road was already built il
probably never could be run-and have no
doubt that he entertains the same opinion now
unless some contribution was given to it by